Driven Wild Universe
The Driven Wild Universe is a series of Daria stories in quasi-script form by Kara Wild, forming a detailed alternate universe. The series contains twenty-two "episodes."
Background
The Driven Wild Universe (or DWU, for short) is meant to play out a series of "What ifs" regarding the Daria series if just one thing were changed. In the case of the DWU, this change involved Quinn getting glasses in the first episode, "Rose-Colored Lenses." While the early episodes of the Driven Wild Universe could have taken place within the series, once Quinn chooses to wear her glasses permanently (from "Cheered Down" onward) the fanfiction series breaks from the series proper and runs along a parallel path. Kara Wild has stated the the true break occurs after Daria Episode 307, "Daria! the Musical"; from that point onward, while certain series developments remain (such as the introduction of Tom Sloane as Jane's boyfriend), others never occur because they have already played out in the Driven Wild Universe, such as "Psycho Therapy."
An intriguing AU, DWU is notable for its development of Quinn Morgendorffer as a glasses-wearing math genius, an interesting outcome in light of a similar development of Quinn as being much smarter than she first appears in the actual TV series (e.g., as in "Lucky Strike"). The series gives Quinn, her mother Helen Morgendorffer, and her aunt Amy Barksdale almost equal coverage with her sister Daria, exploring the relationships between these strong-willed women. Jane Lane is a secondary character.
Installments
- Rose-Colored Lenses
- The Tie That Chokes
- That Thing You Say
- 'Shipped Out
- Andrea Speaks
- Cheered Down
- None in the Family (Parts One and Two)
- Outvoted
- Of Absolute Value
- Breaking the Mold
- Surreal World
- Erin the Head
- Primarily Color
- The Age of Cynicism (incomplete)
- Charge of the Math Brigade
- An Uneasy Marriage
- In Her Own Words
- All But Forgotten
- Memory Road
- Into the Fire
- Tomorrow Never Knows
Original Characters
- Alfred Phelps
- Barry Bukowski
- Charles Howard Barksdale, Jr
- Damien Crawley
- Evelyn Barksdale
- Greg Valmont
- Joel Silverman
- Marshall Winsett
- Vince Rogers
External links
- The Driven Wild Universe (all stories)
- The Driven Wild Universe Primer (a good first reference)
- Driven Wild Universe Fan Art
- Driven Wild Universe "Apocrypha"
- Driven Wild Universe interview Kara Wild was interviewed in PPMB in February 2005 by E. A. Smith; many questions were submitted by fans.
- "Mother's Milk" A short story set in the DWU, after the series has ended.
- "They Came from Planet Xulfanex" A "B movie" science-fiction tale set in the DWU, but not an official part of that epic.
- "Illusions" Fanfic by CharlieGirl, The Angst Guy, and Angelinhel, in which a universe-crossing Daria meets her DWU counterpart—and her sister, the math genius Quinn ("Illusions," Chapter Three).
- "The Thong Remains the Same" A sex-farce fanfic by The Angst Guy that parodies the characters and events in the DWU.